UTC to EST — Eastern Time is 5 hours behind
Eastern Time (EST) is 5 hours behind of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) while both are on standard time. Once daylight saving starts the gap becomes 4 hours behind, so any recurring meeting between these two regions moves by an hour twice a year.
Standard time
5 hours behindApplies while neither zone is on daylight saving — broadly November to March in the northern hemisphere.
Daylight saving
4 hours behindApplies while the clocks are forward. This pair does not keep a constant gap, so check the date.
Convert a time
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UTC to EST — every hour
Both columns are computed from the IANA database, so they follow the real transition dates.
| UTC | EST — standard | EST — daylight saving |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 am | 7:00 pm (previous day) | 8:00 pm (previous day) |
| 1:00 am | 8:00 pm (previous day) | 9:00 pm (previous day) |
| 2:00 am | 9:00 pm (previous day) | 10:00 pm (previous day) |
| 3:00 am | 10:00 pm (previous day) | 11:00 pm (previous day) |
| 4:00 am | 11:00 pm (previous day) | 12:00 am |
| 5:00 am | 12:00 am | 1:00 am |
| 6:00 am | 1:00 am | 2:00 am |
| 7:00 am | 2:00 am | 3:00 am |
| 8:00 am | 3:00 am | 4:00 am |
| 9:00 am | 4:00 am | 5:00 am |
| 10:00 am | 5:00 am | 6:00 am |
| 11:00 am | 6:00 am | 7:00 am |
| 12:00 pm | 7:00 am | 8:00 am |
| 1:00 pm | 8:00 am | 9:00 am |
| 2:00 pm | 9:00 am | 10:00 am |
| 3:00 pm | 10:00 am | 11:00 am |
| 4:00 pm | 11:00 am | 12:00 pm |
| 5:00 pm | 12:00 pm | 1:00 pm |
| 6:00 pm | 1:00 pm | 2:00 pm |
| 7:00 pm | 2:00 pm | 3:00 pm |
| 8:00 pm | 3:00 pm | 4:00 pm |
| 9:00 pm | 4:00 pm | 5:00 pm |
| 10:00 pm | 5:00 pm | 6:00 pm |
| 11:00 pm | 6:00 pm | 7:00 pm |
Questions people ask
5 hours behind during standard time, and 4 hours behind while daylight saving is running.
No. One zone shifts and the other does not, or they shift on different dates, which is why the difference is not a single fixed number.
There are a few hours of shared working time. Booking towards the start of the later zone's day usually suits everybody.
Booking something recurring?
A fixed clock time drifts when either side changes its clocks. Our guides explain how to stop that happening.